Summary & Question-answers of The Poem:5-The Ball Poem with the concerned video

The Ball Poem Summary in English

This poem is about losing something that we like and then learning to grow up. It is about a little boy, who in his young life, for the first time, is learning what it is like to experience grief after the loss of a much-beloved possession which is here his ball. Maybe for us, the loss of a ball is of minor consequence. Our natural reaction may be that still there are many more balls. So, need not worry. But to a little boy, this is something different. One can get another ball with a very less amount of money. But, money is external and immortal here, as it cannot buy back the love and hence cannot replace the things that we love.

In this poem, the boy’s ball van is easily personifying with his young days and which were happy and innocent. People may take balls just as they will take away our innocence and force us to grow up soon. And once we lose our innocence, then we cannot get it back. But, despite all of these we have to learn to stand up. Obviously we need to be strong and get on with our life, irrespective of the sadness inside. This is the only way we will survive. Therefore, we have to learn to accept and let go.

The poet has made the use of the imagery while telling how the ball personifies the spirit of the boy’s childish innocence. We may visualize how the spirit of this little boy, like the ball, is sinking into the dark waters of the harbour. And as it drifts further away, the little boy will learn to grow up, and that part is linked to that ball grows up as well, until it is no longer a little boy.

Thus the reader may interpret this poem literally and metaphorically both. If literally,  it is a soulful picture of little boys growing up and learning to deal with the loss of the first in his possession. If metaphorically,  it is the story of mankind learning how to deal with the loss of their favourite things or people.

Thinking About the Poem

In pairs, attempt the following questions.

Question 1.
Why does the poet say, “I would not intrude on him” ? Why doesn’t he offer him money to buy another ball ?
Answer:
The poet says so because the boy is shaken by the loss of his ball. The poet emphasises this loss. This loss can’t be compensated with any money or anything. So he doesn’t give the boy money.

Question 2.
“…….. staring.downl All his young days into the harbour where/His ball went ……” Do you think the boy has had the ball for a long time ? Is it linked to the memories of days when he played with it ?
Answer:
Yes, the boy had it for a long time. It is seen in ‘staring down/All his young days…’ The boy’s staring into the harbour shows one thing. It is that the ball had links to the memories of many days.

Question 3.
What does “in the world of possessions” mean ?
Answer:
It means the world of materialism. In it one’s possessions carry importance. It is also of consumerism.

Question 4.
Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier ? Pick out the words that suggest the answer.
Answer:
The boy has lost something earlier also. It is seen in the opening line ‘What is the boy now’.

Question 5.
What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball ? Try to explain this in your own words.
Answer:
The poet says that the boy is learning the nature of the loss. It is in the loss of the ball. Actually, the boy is shaken in the loss. Now he tries to understand its emotional implication.

Question 6.
Have you ever lost something you liked very much ? Write a paragraph describing how you felt then, and saying whether—and how—you got over your loss.
Answer:
Yes, I have lost many things during the past years. I loved my favourite shirt. I loved it very much. It had a very pleasing colour. It had been stitched as if for me only. Its cloth was very smooth and lovely. It looked very nice on my body. I lay worried for many days at this loss. It couldn’t simply be out of my mind. I felt shaken. I tried to forget it but I could not. Only after many months would I be able to forget it.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:3-Iswaran the Storyteller with the concerned video

Iswaran the Storyteller Summary 

Mahendra was a junior supervisor in a firm which offered on hire supervisors at various types of construction sites. His job made him move every now and then from a coal mining area to a railway bridge construction site to some chemical plant after some months.

He was a bachelor. He had a cook named Iswaran. Iswaran accompanied Mahendra wherever he went and was therefore greatly attached to him. He not only cooked for Mahendra and washed his clothes but also used to tell him stories in a very interesting manner.

Iswaran loved to read popular Tamil thrillers in his leisure time. As a result, he innovated his own thrillers and would tell about it to Mahendra. Mahendra enjoyed listening to them because of the inimitable way in which they were told. Once he told his master a story about how he controlled a wild elephant that had gone berserk.

He told that he came from a place famous for timber. The logs there were carried on to the lorries by elephants. They were huge well-fed beats. But when they turned wild, not even the most experienced mahout could control them. One day the elephant entered the school ground where children were playing, breaking through the brick wall. Children and teachers got terrified and rushed to the safe place.

But Iswaran was not scared. He moved towards the mad tusker with a cane in his hand and whacked its third toenail on the quick. The beast shivered from head to foot and then collapsed.

One day, while talking about the spirits of ancestors, he began to talk of ghosts. He said that the place where they were staying was once a burial ground and that he had sometimes seen ghosts at night. Being a brave man, he was not scared of them.

Then he told his master about a horrible ghost woman seen only on a full moon night. She moaned and carried a foetus in her arms. Mahendra shivered at the description and told Iswaran that there were no such things as ghosts or spirits. He left the room and retired for the night. But he could not sleep. The story of the ghost woman began to hover in his mind.

One night, Mahendra was woken up from his sleep by a low moan close to his window. He looked out at the white sheet of moonlight outside, and found a dark cloudy form clutching a bundle. Mahendra was sure that it was none but the ghost woman.

He broke into a cold sweat and fell back on the pillow, panting. In the morning Iswaran asked him about the ghost woman and the sound of moaning that was coming from his room. But Mahendra was very upset. He decided to leave the place immediately.

Page No: 18 Think About It
1. In what way is Iswaran an asset to Mahendra?

Ans: Iswaran was a good domestic assistant for Mahendra. Apart from cooking and doing household chores he was a great entertainer for his master. He was good at managing resources as he could find vegetables out of nowhere also never had complained while accompanying his master.

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2. How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the highway? What effect does he want to create in his listeners?

Ans: Iswaran describes the uprooted tree on the highway with eyebrows suitably arched and hands held out in a dramatic way. He would begin by saying that the road was deserted and he was all alone. Suddenly he spotted something that looked like an enormous bushy beast lying sprawled across the road. He was half inclined to turn and go back. But as he came closer he saw that it was a fallen tree, with its dry branches spread out.
The effect he wants to create is suspense and a surprise ending to every small incident that he narrates to his readers.

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3. How does he narrate the story of the tusker? Does it appear to be plausible?

Ans: He started the story of the elephant by giving a prologue in which he called elephants ‘huge well-fed beasts.’ He said that after escaping from the timber yard, the elephant started roaming about, stamped on bushes and tore up wild creepers. It then came to the main road of the town and smashed all the stalls selling fruits, mud pots, and clothes. It then entered a school ground where the children were playing. It pulled out the football goal-post, tore down the volleyball net, flattened the drum kept for water and uprooted the shrubs. All the teachers and students were so afraid that they climbed up to the terrace of the school building. According to Iswaran, he was studying in the junior class at that time. He grabbed a cane from the hands of one of the teachers and ran into the open. The elephant continued grunting and stamping its feet. It looked frightening. However, he moved slowly towards it. When the elephant was ready to rush towards him, he moved forward and whacked its third toe nail. It looked stunned and then collapsed.
This story does not appear to be plausible.

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4. Why does the author say that Iswaran seemed to more than make up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s living quarters?

Ans: The author says so because Iswaran provided a great company to Mahendra. He would chat with Mahendra at night when he returned from his work. Iswaran would also entertain Mahendra by telling stories. Thus, with Iswaran around Mahendra never felt bored and never felt the necessity of having a TV for entertainment.

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5. Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the imagination. What happens to him on a full-moon night?

Ans: Mahendra calls ghosts or spirits a figment of the imagination because Iswaran informed him that they were living on a burial site and kept narrating to him stories of various ghosts he himself had encountered.
On one full moon night, Mahendra was woken up from his sleep by a low moan close to his window. At first he thought that it was a cat prowling around for mice. But the sound was too deep and guttural for a cat. He resisted looking outside as he did not want to witness a sight that might stop his heart beat. But the crying became louder and less subtle. He could not resist the temptation any more. Lowering himself to the level of the windows he looked out at the white sheet of moonlight outside. There, not too far away, was a dark cloudy form clutching a bundle. He broke into a cold sweat and fell back on the pillow, panting.

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6. Can you think of some other ending for the story?

Ans: The story could have ended on a more positive note. Instead of resigning from his job, Mahendra could have been shown as a real courageous man and proving the ghost theory wrong.
Another ending can be of both Mahendra and Iswaran leaving the place together and in turn continuing their bond which is depicted earlier in the story. Iswaran has been explained as a man of all seasons for Mahendra.

Summary & The Question-answers of The Chapter:2-Chidren at Work with the concerned video

Children at work Summary in English

Introduction

 Children at Work is a sensible story by Gita Wolf, which focuses on the living of slum children. This story teaches us how to be empathic with these children and help whatever we can. This story involves a boy named Velu. He was a  small boy of 11 years. His father was a drunkard. His father used to beat him and his sister and used to snatch every money they earned. Velu was fed up with the day to day abuses and decided to run away from home. He walked all day in Kannur ( a district in Tamilnadu), and later on boarded Kanyakumari Express. Kanyakumari express brought him to Chennai Central station.

Chennai Central Station

Chennai Central station is a huge station. Velu saw people in a rush with their suitcases. A loudspeaker was shouting with announcements; some people were watching a big TV screen; some were sitting on the platform. Velu was feeling very weak, and his legs were shaking. He had come to Chennai in an unreserved compartment, sitting near the gate. A group of people played playing cards and shouted throughout the night. Velu felt miserable in a new place and sat on a bench.

Ragpicker Jaya

A ragpicker small girl with brown and dirty hair named Jaya saw him and talked about him. Initially, Velu was reluctant as she was a stranger to him. She told she could arrange for his food. Velu had no option other than to follow her. Velu went behind her. She took him to busy roads with high traffic and dust. Velu was frightened by the traffic. A central jail came near him. Jaya warned him of police as police do not like ragpickers. Finally, they reached a marriage hall. There was a big garbage pile. Jaya found two bananas and a vada. She gave a banana and the vada to Velu. Velu was reluctant to eat left-over food thrown in the bin. But he was hungry, and there was no other option.

Comprehension Check (Page 9)

Question 1:

Velu stood on the platform but he felt “as if he was still on a moving train”. Why?

Answer:

Velu had run away from his home to Chennai by catching the Kanyakumari Express. He travelled in a train for the first time and as he got off the train and stood on the platform, he felt his legs were shaky and wobbly. Besides, he was very hungry and stressed and felt as though he was still on a moving train.

Question 2:

What made him feel miserable?

Answer:

Velu felt exhausted and miserable as he laid down his head on his knees because he had run away from his village two days ago due to the torture inflicted upon him by his drunkard father. He had not eaten anything in the past two days except for some peanuts and a piece of jaggery. He felt lost and hopeless when he arrived at the big city.

Question 3:

(i) Velu travelled without a ticket. Why?

(ii) How did he escape the ticket collector’s attention?

Answer:

(i) Velu left his village as he was annoyed with his drunkard father who used to grab away all that he and his sisters earned and spent it on drink. Hence, he travelled without a ticket because he had no money to buy a train ticket for himself.

(ii) Velu could escape the ticket collector’s attention because luckily the ticket collector didn’t come to the unreserved compartment. He tried to sleep on the floor near the door as he had no ticket.

Question 4:

Why had Velu run away from home?

Answer:

Velu was from a poor family and he and his sisters would work hard for a living. But his drunkard father would snatch away all their earnings and spent it on drinking. The little boy ran away from his home as he was very annoyed with his father.

Question 5:

Why did he decide to follow the ‘strange’ girl?

Answer:

Velu decided to follow the ‘strange girl’ because he was new in the big city and didn’t know where to go and what to do. Meanwhile, he was also very hungry and stressed as he had not eaten any food for the past two days.

Comprehension Check (Page 13)

Question 1:

Can Velu read Tamil and English? How do you know?

Answer:

Velu could not read the huge signboards that were written in English as he didn’t know what it meant. However, when he walked past the Central Jail, he squinted and read it as it was written in Tamil.

Question 2:

“If you are not careful, you will soon be counting bars there,” the girl said.

(i) What is she referring to?

(ii) What does she mean when she says “If you are not careful…”?

(She says something a little later which means the same. Find that sentence.)

Answer:

(i) She was referring to the Central Jail.

(ii) When she said to Velu, “If you are not careful…”, she meant that he should never get caught to be put behind the bars. Besides, she also meant that they should be extra cautious and not do anything stupid in order to avoid getting caught by the policemen.

The other sentence which the girl told him was – “You don’t have to do anything. Just don’t get caught, that’s all.”

Question 3:

(i) Where did the girl lead Velu to?

(ii) What did they get to eat?

Answer:

(i) The girl led Velu to a big wedding hall and rushed behind it where there was a big garbage bin overflowing with rubbish. She picked up a squashy banana and held it out to him as she knew he was starving and quickly picked up a vada and gave him to eat.

(ii) Velu got a squashy banana and a vada, whereas the girl only got a banana to eat.

Question 4:

What work did she do? Think of a one-word answer.

Answer:

The girl worked as a rag-picker.

Comprehension Check (Page 15)

Question 1:

(i) What material are the ‘strange’ huts made out of?

(ii) Why does Velu find them strange?

Answer:

(i) The ‘strange’ huts were built out of all sorts of things such as metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood and plastic.

(ii) In Velu’s village, the houses were made of mud and palm leaves. But he found the huts in the city to be strange because they were made up of different stuffs such as metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood and plastic. They stood crookedly and looked as if they would fall any moment. He had actually visited a slum area for the first time and he was quite surprised by looking at them and wondered how people lived among them and from where they  got such stuff to build their huts.

Question 2:

What sort of things did Jaya and children like her collect and what did they do with those things?

Answer:

Jaya and other children liked to collect paper, plastic, glass and other similar things. They sold all these things to Jam Bazaar Jaggu, who further sold it to a nearby factory.

Question 3:

Is Velu happy or unhappy to find work? Give a reason for your answer.

Answer:

Although Velu had run away from his home, he was unhappy to find the work of a rag-picker as he had to dig through garbage bins. He remembered that the only work he had ever done was on the landowner’s farm, weeding and taking cows out to graze. However, he decided to work as a rag-picker for the meantime until he found a better job for himself.

Exercise (Page 16)

Discuss the following questions in small groups. Write their answers afterwards.

Question 1:

Is Velu a smart boy? Which instances in the text show that he is or isn’t?

Answer:

Velu was initially a very naive boy who ran away from his village to avoid the torture of his drunkard father. However, when he arrived at a big city, Chennai he felt lost and miserable among so many people. Soon he met Jaya, a rack-picker who helped him to get some food as she realised he was starving. From then on, Velu acted smartly by following her as he didn’t know where to go and what to do in such a big city. On his way, he read the Central Jail hoarding written in Tamil and Jaya warned him that he should not do anything stupid and should avoid getting caught by the policemen. He kept following her until she took him to the slum area where he saw the strange huts which were made up of metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood and plastic. They stood crookedly and looked as if they would fall any moment. Soon Jaya told him how she and other children collected glass, paper and other stuff and hand it over Jam Bazaar Jaggu, who further sold it to a factory nearby. Seeing all this, Velu agreed to work as a rag-picker like Jaya for the time being until he finds a suitable job for himself.

Question 2:

Do you think Jaya is a brave and sensitive child with a sense of humour? Find instances of her courage, kind nature and humour in the text.

Answer:

Yes, Jaya was a brave and sensitive child with a good sense of humour. She was of the same age as Velu and worked as a rag-picker and knew well how to survive in the city. She knew all the roads across the city and was also aware where she can find food to eat. However, when she met Velu at the railway station, she roamed about the city with him by collecting glass, paper and bottles and also got him some food to eat from a garbage bin behind a wedding hall. She tried to help him in all possible ways and told him to join her in rag-picking work. She gave him a pair of old shoes without laces and pushed a sack and a stick into his hands. However, we also notice that she has a humorous nature when she asks Velu if he had come at Chennai to become a rich person. She also helps him to cross the busy streets and told him that if he continues to stand still in the middle of the road like that, he would get run over by the huge vehicles unnecessarily.

Question 3:

What one throws away as waste may be valuable to others. Do you find this sentence meaningful in the context of this story? How?

Answer:

The story “Children at work” depicts the sad plight of slum dwellers, mostly the children who have to work as rag-pickers to sustain and feed themselves in big cities. It shows how the rubbish that we throw away in the garbage is being collected by these children to make a livelihood for themselves. People throw away leftover food, bottles and paper which are collected by these children and they earn money by selling these to nearby factories. As a matter of fact, a waste thrown away by someone becomes a blessing or a source of income for another. Therefore, difficult circumstances compel such children to work as ragpickers and earn a living from it.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:2-Bringing Up Kari with the concerned video

Bringing Up Kari Summary In English

Karl was an elephant. He was five months old when he came to the author. Karl lived in a pavilion. It was under a thatched roof which rested on thick tree stumps. Karl bumped against the poles as he moved about the enclosure. Yet the poles didn’t give way. It was so because these poles were made of thick tree stumps. Kari enjoyed his morning bath in the river much. He would lie in the water for a long time. On coming out he would squeal with pleasure. After the bath, the author would leave him on the edge of the jungle. He would himself go into the forest to get some twigs for the elephant’s dinner. It took a long time. First, the author would sharpen his hatchet which took half an hour. Then the author had to climb trees to get the most delicate and tender twigs. Doing all this naturally took a long time.

Karl and the author were good friends. But Kari once pushed him into the stream. It was to save the life of a boy. He saw a boy lying on the bottom of the river. He dived and pulled the body of the drowning boy to the surface. However, the author was not a swimmer. So he could not come ashore. The current began to drag him down. Karl saw it. He came fast into the water. The author caught his trunk. He pulled both the author and the boy ashore. Like a baby Kari had to be told when he was naughty. He developed a taste for bananas. He began to steal them. Large plates of fruit were kept on a table in the dining room, Kari would put his trunk through the window to the bananas. In one attempt he would take them all. He would, then, quietly go to his pavilion. There he ate the bananas at peace without being seen. At last, the author caught him stealing. When he was scolded, he understood  Kari was like a baby and did not steal again. Again, like babies he was a quick learner. Kari learnt “Mali’ after three lessons but it took him three weeks to learn ‘Dhat’. ‘Dhat was the command to sit while ‘Mali’ was the command to walk. These commands were taught to him just as one teaches a child.

Answer the following questions.

Question 1.
The enclosure in which Kari lived had a thatched roof that lay on thick tree stumps. Examine the illustration of Kari’s pavilion on page 8 and say why it was built that way.
Answer.
The enclosure was so built as to make it suitable for Kari. Kari bumped against the poles as he moved about. Since these poles were thick tree stumps, they did not give way.

Question 2.
Did Kari enjoy his morning bath in the river ? Give a reason for your answer.
Answer.
Kari enjoyed his morning bath. It was clear from the fact that he lay in the water for a long time. On coming out, he would squeal with pleasure.

Question 3.
Finding good twigs for Kari took a long time. Why?
Answer.
Finding good twigs for Kari took a long time. First the author would sharpen his hatchet which would take half an hour. It was necessary because the elephant would not touch mutilated twigs. Then the author had to climb all kinds of trees. He did it to get the most delicate and tender twigs. All this naturally took a long time.

Question 4.
Why did Kari push his friend into the stream ? (Imp.)
Answer.
Kari pushed his friend into the stream to save the life of a boy. The author fell into the stream and he saw a boy lying on the bottom. He dived and pulled the boy to the surface. But the author was not a swimmer. The current of the water began to drag him down. Kari saw it. He came fast into the water. He caught the author by his trunk. Then Kari pulled both of them ashore.

Question 5.
Kari was like a baby. What are the main points of comparison ?
Answer.
Kari was like a baby. Like a baby, he was to be scolded when he was naughty. Again like a baby he learnt very quickly. He sometimes did mischief like a baby. But he quietly accepted punishment when he was wrong.

Question 6.
Kari helped himself to all the bananas in the house without anyone noticing it. How did he do it ?
Answer.
Bananas were kept on a large plate on a table in the dining room. The table was close to window. Kari put his trunk through the window on the fruit plate. He took all the bananas in one attempt. Nobody knew about it. But one day the author found him doing so.

Question 7.
Kari learnt the commands to sit and to walk. What were the instructions for each command ?
(Imp.)
Answer.
The command to sit was to say ‘Dhať and pull Kari by the ear. The command to walk was to say ‘Mali’ and pull his trunk forward.

Question 8.
What is “the master call” ? Why is it the most important signal for an elephant to learn ?
(V. Imp.)
Answer.
To teach the master call to an elephant is the most difficult thing. Yet it is the most important signal for an elephant to learn. The master call is a strange hissing howling sound. It seems as if a snake and a tiger were fighting.
A trained elephant can be given the master call in its ears in a forest. The elephant knows that his master has lost his way. He therefore starts uprooting trees. Thus, he creates a path through the forest to the master’s house.

Summary & Question-answers of The Poem:3-Rain on the Roof with the concerned video

Rain on the Roof Summary in English

In this poem, the poet says that when the sky is full of dark clouds which have moisture and are full of water, it is about to bring rain. Further, when these clouds float around the sky over the starry spheres (refers to the sky at night time that is full of stars)

, huge clouds that are full of moisture move around in the sky and the raindrops that seem like a tear falling from the sky wipe the sad darkness of the night. Moreover, the poet compares the raindrops to tears as to him the dark sky seems very sad. Also, it appears as if it is weeping and the raindrops are the tears shed by it. He further adds that it is like a blessing to lie on the bed in his room. He listens to the sound made by raindrops falling on the roof.

In the next part, the poet expresses his feelings when he hears the raindrops falling on the roof of his house.  The poet says that every tinkle on the shingles has an echo in the heart. Whenever he hears raindrops falling on the rooftop, its sound is repeated in his heart and in his dreams. Further, he has many different and fantastic imaginations. Also, the falling drops of rain on the rooftops creates many new different dreams in his mind. For instance, he recollects many memories of the past which come back into his mind as dreams. Hence, he listens to the patter of the rain upon the roof, he has many new dreams in his mind and his memories of the past come back in the form of dreams.

In the last paragraph, the poet introduces his mother and says that he is dreaming of his mother. As in the previous stanza that rain brings memories of the past. They were the memories of his mother who is no longer alive. Long ago, his mother used to love him a lot and she used to consider him a darling. Also, she would let him sleep until daybreak and had sweet dreams. As he listens to the song made by the raindrops falling on the rooftop of his room, he feels that his mother is looking at him.  Moreover, the sound of rain makes him correlate  his past with his present. So he was so moved by the sound of the raindrops on the shingles of his room. Every time he hears this sound it brings back memories of the past as he is reminded of his mother.

Thinking about the poem 

(Page 42)

I.

Question 1.

What do the following phrases mean to you? Discuss in class.

humid shadows

starry spheres

what a bliss

a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start

a thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof

Answer:

Humid shadows: These are the shadows of different things which become wet during the rainy season.

Starry spheres: The area where stars appear in a group in the sky.

What a bliss: The poet feels happy when he listens to the rain drops.

A thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start: The poet starts recollecting the past and finds himself lost in reveries and dreams in the rainy weather.

A thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof: The poet recollects hundreds of memories in the rainy season. They weave a weft with the help of air-threads.

Question 2.

What does the poet like to do when it rains?

Answer:

When it rains the poet wants to lie on bed in a cottage and listen to pitter-patter sound of the rain.

Question 3.

What is the single major memory that comes to the poet’s mind? Who are the “darling dreamers” he refers to?

Answer:

The poet’s mother is the single major memory that comes to his mind. ‘Darling dreamers’ are those ‘kids’ who remember their mothers like the poet.

Question 4.

Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still alive?

Answer:

No, the poet is not a child. His mother is no more. But her memories still haunt him.

II.

Question 1.

When you were a young child, did your mother tuck you in, as the poet’s mother did?

Answer:

Yes, my mother used to tuck me in when I was a child. Whenever I said that I could not do some work, she embraced me and took me in her lap to get that work done. She used to feel sad and dejected if I was involved in any mishap.

Question 2.

Do you like rain? What do you do when it rains steadily or heavily as described in the poem?

Answer:

Yes, I like rain and prefer to take a bath in the rain for some time. But when it rains heavily, I stay inside and enjoy the beauty of nature. 

Question 3.

Does everybody have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains? Look around you and describe how different kinds of people or animals spend time, seek shelter, etc. during rain.

Answer:

No, everybody is not so fortunate to have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains. There are some people who live at the railway platforms and bus terminal. They don’t have even bed sheet, what to talk of comfortable beds.

There are so many animals which don’t have any shelter and tremble under the dark sky in the rainy season.

Summary & Question-answers of The Poem:4-How to Tell Wid Animals with the concerned video

Summary of the poem

In this poem the poet describes  various wild animals. These animals are very dangerous and she has introduced them one by one in a very funny way. First of all she tells us about an Asian lion. She says that if you are visiting the jungles of the east and there you see an animal which has tawny skin and he roars so loudly that you will die out of fear, this means that you have seen an Asian lion. Next in the line is the Bengal tiger that she has explained to be a royal animal that at once attacks and kills a man. She says by adding humour that if this beautiful black striped animal kills you and eats you, you have surely meets a Bengal tiger. After this, she says that if the reader meets an animal that has black spotted skin and it at once jumps on him,  it means that the reader has met a leopard. Moreover, she says that if one cries out in pain, it maybe of no use as the leopard will not stop attacking him. Then she moves on to the bear that she says that it will hug very tightly. This is the way to recognize a bear as it kills a person by hugging him very tightly. So, she says that the bear will continue to hug us tightly and that is the only way to recognize him. After this, she asks a question to the readers if they know how to recognize beasts that hunt their prey. Here she explains about hyenas which she thinks have a smiling face and the crocodiles have tears in their eyes. This can be seen when they are killing their prey. The last one in the list is the Chameleon. She says that it is a lizard - like creature which doesn’t have ears and wings just like a lizard. Only this can help you differentiate between a lizard and chameleon. She further says that the chameleon has a quality of changing its colour according to the colour of the surface. So, to explain this she says that if the reader looks at the tree and if he can only see the tree, this means there is a chameleon sitting on it which has already turned its colour to brown just like the branch of the tree.

Thinking about the Poem

(Page 45)

Question 1.

Does ‘Dyin’ really rhyme with ‘lion’ ? Can you say it in such a way that it does?

Answer:

No, ‘Dyin’ does not rhyme with ‘lion’. If we change the pronunciation of lion by speaking it as ‘lying’ then it may rhyme with the word ‘dyin’.

Question 2.

How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger? When can you do so according to him?

Answer:

A lion is a large and tawny beast. A Bengal Tiger has black stripes on its yellow coat. A lion roars when it falls upon its prey, while a tiger attacks silently. We can identify the two while roaming in the jungle.

Question 3.

Do you think the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ in the third stanza are spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?

Answer:

The words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ are not spelt correctly. The poet has spelt them like this in order to maintain the rhythm of the poem. The correct spelling of the words, ‘lept’ is leapt and ‘lep’ is leap. The poet has intentionally spelt them incorrectly to create a sense of humour.

Question 4.

Do you know what a ‘bearhug’ is? It’s a friendly and strong hug-such as bears are thought to give, as they attack you! Again, hyenas are thought to laugh and crocodiles to weep (‘crocodile tears’) as they swallow their victims. Are there similar expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in your own language (s)?

Answer:

A bearhug is when the bear hugs his prey tightly with both hands and presses him to death.

There are indeed similar expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in every language. For example, in Hindi, we say ‘Magarmach ke aansu aaana’ (Crocodile tears) ‘Haathi ke daant dikhane ke aur, khane ke aur’, ‘Ab pachtaye hot kya jab chidiya chug gai khet’, ‘Girgit ke tarah rang badalna’.

Question 5.

Look at the line ‘A novice might nonplus.” How would you write this ‘correctly’? Why is the poet’s ‘incorrect’ line better in the poem?

Answer:

The line “A novice might nonplus” can be written correctly as “A novice might be nonplussed”. However, the poet’s incorrect line is better in the poem as it maintains the rhyme scheme of the poem. By writing it incorrectly, ‘nonplus’ rhymes with ‘thus’.

Question 6.

Can you find other examples of poets taking liberties with language, either in English or in your own language? Can you find examples of humorous poems in your own language (s)?

Answer:

One can find plenty of examples in poetry where poets take liberties with language. This is called ‘poetic licence’. Poets take such liberties in order to create proper rhyming and rhythm. For example, in the following lines the word ‘prest’ is used instead of ‘pressed’ so that it may rhyme with ‘breast’.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweat flowing breast

Question 7.

Much of the humour in the poem arises from the way language is used. Although the ideas are funny as well. If there are particular lines in the poem that you especially like, share these lines with the class, speaking briefly about what it is about the ideas or the language that you like or find funny.

Answer:

The way the poet has used language and ideas in the poem is indeed humourous. The lines from the poem that appear to be funny are “A noble wild beast greets you”. The idea that a wild beast is going to welcome you is quite funny. The language in the line, “He’ll only lep and lep again” is also very humorous. The concept of ‘lep’ from the word ‘leopard’ generates humour.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:3-Two Stories about Flying with the concerned video

Summary of Two Stories about Flying

This lesson has two stories about flying in two parts. The author of the part-1 titled ‘His First Flight’ is Liam O' Flaherty, while the author of part-2 titled ‘Black Aeroplane’ is Frederick Forsryth. In the first part, the readers come to know about the younger bird seagull. The bird is much afraid to fly for the first time. It feels that its wing will not support while flying. The writer gives a beautiful narration of the story about how the bird overcomes this fear. In the second part, the writer narrates the story about a student who is returning back to England on a flight. The story describes the events that happen on the way and his narrow escape from death with the help of a mysterious Aeroplane.

Two Stories about Flying Summary in English

The story of His First Flight is based on a young seagull which is afraid to fly because of distrust on its wings. All his younger siblings can fly fearlessly despite their shorter wings. On the other hand, the young bird cannot gather the courage to trust his wings. He always becomes afraid when coming forward to the brink of the ledge and attempting to fly. His mother and father come around calling him and threatening him starve on the ledge unless he flies. Despite all the upbraiding and calling to him shrilly, he could not move. All-day long he watches his parents fly with his siblings and teaching them how to skim the waves.

One day the whole family flies to a big plateau and on the opposite cliff, the seagull is sitting hungry. He begs his mother to bring him some food. His mother picks a piece of fish and flies across to him. Maddened by hunger, he jumps at the fish with a loud shout. He falls outward and downward into space and he can feel his wings cutting through the air. The next moment he is flying fearlessly and his siblings are soaring and diving with him.

The narrator of the story, Black Aeroplane is a pilot who elaborates on his misjudgment and how it creates problems. In the lesson, the pilot is flying from Paris to London and dreams about the holiday with his family. He is flying over a city and thinks about the tasty breakfast after landing. After crossing Paris he gets a look of the dark clouds, signifying the upcoming storm. For the sake of safety, he should turn back to Paris but he decides otherwise. To fulfil his dream of a holiday, he risks the life of passengers and heads the plane into the storm.

Everything gets dark and all the instruments stop working. He loses control of the plane and the hope of their survival becomes bleak. The much less amount of fuel is left and the pilot starts panicking in the situation. Suddenly he sees another plane flying next to him through the storm. The pilot turns his plane to the north in order to follow the strange Aeroplane. The pilot starts frightening again as the fuel is getting low. The anonymous pilot guides them out of the storm and disappears. After landing, the pilot asks about the other plane but is left in shock to know that there was no other plane in the sky, except his.

NCERT Solutions for His First Flight

By Liam O' Flaherty

Page No: 36

Thinking about Text

1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Do you think all young birds are afraid to make their first flight, or are some birds more timid than others? Do you think a human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first steps?

Answer

The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was its first flight. It is a well known fact that doing something for the first time is challenging. Therefore, all young birds must be afraid to make their first flights. Similarly, a human baby would also find it a challenge to take its first step.

2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?

Answer 

The young seagull was very hungry. It was this hunger that ultimately compelled it to fly. Its hunger only intensified when it saw its mother tearing at a piece of fish that lay at her feet. It cried to her, begging her to get some food. When its mother came towards it with food in her beak, it screamed with joy and anticipation. However, she stopped midway. It wondered why she did not come nearer. Not being able to resist or control its hunger any longer, it dived at the food in its mother’s beak. At that moment, his hunger overpowered his fear of the great expanse of sea beneath the cliff. Finally, this plunge was followed by the natural reaction of its body, i.e., to fly.

3. “They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly. “Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?

Answer 

The young seagull was afraid to fly. Even when it saw its brothers and sisters flying, and its parents helping and teaching them, it could not gather enough courage to make that first flight. That is why its father and mother were calling to it shrilly and scolding it. They threatened to let it starve on its ledge if it did not fly. They did so because they wanted it to leave its fear behind and learn to fly.

NCERT Solutions for The Black Aeroplane

By Fredrick Forsyth

Page  No: 40

Thinking about the Text

1. “I’ll take the risk.” What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?

Answer 

The risk was to fly through the black storm clouds. The narrator took the risk because he wanted to reach Paris to celebrate Christmas with his family.

2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.

Answer 

As he flew into the storm, everything went black. It was impossible to see anything outside the plane. It jumped and twisted in the air. When he looked at his compass, he saw that it was turning round and round. It was dead. Along with it, the other instruments, including the radio, were also dead. Suddenly, he saw another aeroplane. Its pilot waved at him, asking him to follow. He was glad to find a helper. He was using his last fuel tank and there was only enough fuel to fly five or ten minutes. Then, the other pilot started to go down and he followed. He suddenly came out of the clouds and saw the runway, on which he then landed his plane safely.

3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?

Answer 

He was delighted to land safely out of dark stormy clouds, therefore, he was not sorry to walk away for his plane. He felt bad, when he was not able to thank his guide, his mentor who saved him from from frightening situations, but he was so happy after landing that he didn't feel sorry for not being able to thank the guide pilot.

4. What made the woman in the control centre look at the narrator strangely?

Answer

The woman in the control room was surprised when the narrator asked about the other aeroplane and its pilot. She said that there was no areoplane seen on the radar.